(I started writing this a few weeks ago after not having posted anything for about 6 weeks, hence the title. I've just found the time to check and finish it.)
For nearly two years, we, a small group of carers, families and supporters have been trying to do all we could to raise awareness of and halt, if at all possible, our CC's plans to end Council Day Service provision for adults with a learning disability (LD). It has been time-consuming and draining and, sadly, we have failed.
Our son's centre, or "My place", as he called it, will close in July. We have been through a long and gruelling process of assessment and, with the help of a lovely and very capable social worker, he has ended up with private day provision which will suit him and with which he seems happy. It is run by ex-staff from the centre and is attended by others who were his friends there. This is the only situation with which our son would be happy. He is acutely shy and would be completely withdrawn with strangers.
When full, the Centre provided for 125 service users and our son loved it. He went for over 23 years. It catered for the full range of disabilities and everyone found their own place within it. It enabled families to keep their relatives at home, rather than in residential care, because, at the centre, they had their own world, 5 days a week from 9 till 4, which allowed otherwise very stressed carers to cope during the rest of the time.
We now know that plans were made, probably beginning in the early years of the last decade to deliberately run the centre numbers down. Referrals were no longer made or information given to families whose children were leaving special education. If information was requested, Day Services were shown in a bad light, even described as 'institutionalising'! How terrible was that and the very opposite of the truth, to boot!
We had a state-of-the-art home for 18 adults with a LD who had no families. They were gradually moved out into private residential places and were no longer able to access day service for financial reasons. (The home has been demolished and an expensive private care home has been erected in its place - surprise, surprise!) This, to me, was the saddest part of all of all these manipulations.
The CC held a so-called consultation. By a series of minor miracles, we found a solicitor and barrister who were prepared to act for us. The consultation result was massively in our favour. It was overthrown by the Council anyway, so no surprise there. Our case went to a high court judge last September who, on seeing the Council's promises, which included a second consultation (ha ha), decided not to proceed with it. The second travesty of a consultation was held over Christmas, most people were too disillusioned to respond to it, and,of those that did, nearly all voted against closure. It was overturned again, an absolute sham, as we had always suspected.
There were only about 20 people using the place by then as the atmosphere had deteriorated drastically, and understandably, as the staff, who have been marvellous throughout, were naturally demoralised beyond belief, seeing their livelihoods disappearing and the people they had cared for so brilliantly and lovingly, cast adrift. Also, it suited the authorities to run down the quality of provision to give families more reasons to find other opportunities as their loved ones, in some cases, became very depressed, seeing their friends leave and others become increasingly distressed as numbers and activities decreased.
We know that this situation has been replicated up and down the country and not just for the learning disabled. So many genuinely needy people have seen their life-lines taken away and, no matter what glib excuses are churned out, we know the cause is financial. There are many deep and complex reasons for this and it's not my intention to even try to come up with any answers. I just wanted to tell the story. I know it's way too long and don't expect many people will read it but it's out there now.
What I would like to do is follow this with the letters and statements which I have written over these last two years, to the councillors and to our local paper. They are much more succinct than this and hopefully tell the tale better or at lest show the feelings better, and, mercifully, more briefly.
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